Poland's 2019 judicial reform violates EU law, according to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Luxembourg-based court on Monday upheld a lawsuit filed by the EU Commission in 2021. In particular, the Disciplinary Chamber for Judges, which has since been abolished, has undermined judicial independence.
The penalty payment previously imposed on Poland will thus expire for formal reasons, but the EU Commission can apply for a penalty payment again. (Ref: C-204/21) In addition, the EU Commission is withholding several billion euros from the Corona recovery fund for Poland because it has doubts about the justice system there.
Since the beginning of 2016, the EU Commission has been taking action against Poland over several judicial reforms. The core of the judicial reforms in 2018 was a realignment of the Disciplinary Chamber at the Supreme Court. With the 2019 reform, Poland made further changes here.
The ECJ has now confirmed in the main proceedings that the Disciplinary Chamber had violated EU law even after the amendments. The independence of the judges was still not guaranteed. The ability of the courts to invoke EU law has also been restricted.